Transcript Face The Facts Climate Change

Face the Facts of
Climate Change
Face the Facts Activity:
1.Form small groups.
2.Listen while a climate change statement is read aloud.
3.Discuss the statement with your group. Do you agree or
disagree with the statement? Can you reach a consensus?
4.When prompted, hold up the appropriate Face the Facts
card.
Statement 1:
The terms global warming and climate change are
commonly used to refer to the same phenomenon,
though they actually have different meanings.
Answer: Agree
The terms global warming and climate change
should not be used interchangeably as they refer
to different concepts.
Global warming: refers to the observed
increase in average temperatures near the Earth’s
surface and in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Climate Change: is a shift in the average
weather of a given region over time. It includes
changes in temperature, wind patterns and
precipitation, which can mean an increase in
droughts, floods, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes
and other weather events.
Greenhouse Effect: Trace amounts of
greenhouse gases (GHGs) act like the glass of a
greenhouse and trap the heat from the sun next to
the Earth.
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: Human
activities over the last two hundred years have
created a thicker blanket of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere.
Increases in anthropogenic (or human-made)
greenhouse gases have led to increased global
average temperatures.
Statement 2:
Weather patterns can be hard to predict, therefore
we should be sceptical about the accuracy of
climate predictions.
Answer: Disagree
Just as weather and climate are fundamentally
different concepts, so are the processes involved
in predicting each of them.
Climate models use the past to predict
the future
•
Avg. global temperature records since 1860
• Today’s models now reproduce the past
century global temperatures
• Reinforces confidence in future climate
predictions
• Climate models predict that global temperatures
will rise by 1.4 to 5.8°C over the next century
Statement 3:
Scientists cannot agree whether the enhanced
greenhouse effect, or global warming, is being
caused by humans.
Answer: Disagree
Scientists are certain that the enhanced
greenhouse effect we have been experiencing is
directly linked to more greenhouse gases (GHGs)
in the atmosphere and that these GHG
concentrations have increased due to human
activity.
Scientists Agree
• CO2 levels have
increased due to increases
in fossil fuel burning since
the Industrial Revolution
• Global average
temperatures have
increased in line with CO2
levels
Statement 4:
A few degrees of warming would be nice!
Answer: Disagree
Over the last century, the Earth’s average surface
temperature has risen 0.7°C. And although that
may not sound like much, it is. The Earth - like the
human body - is in a delicate balance and very
sensitive to any change in temperature.
Over the next century, scientists
expect:
• 1 metre rise in sea levels
• More intense weather events (i.e. Hurricanes)
• Reduced agricultural yields
• Declines in arctic sea ice and tundra permafrost
• Human health risks to increase
Statement 5:
The world’s poorest countries and most vulnerable
people will bear the heaviest burden of climate
change.
Answer: Agree
For reasons of geography and poverty, the world’s
poorest people will be hit the hardest by climate
change.
Certain populations are more
vulnerable due to:
• geographical vulnerability
• economic reliance on agriculture
• already poor conditions
• high population density
• lack of resources to detect and adapt to threats
The most vulnerable are always
children.
Statement 6:
The science of climate change is too uncertain to
act on.
Answer: Disagree
The time to act on climate change is now.
Humans are at a crossroads where climate
change is concerned – a direct path to sustainable
societies and low carbon living must be taken.
We must follow the precautionary
principle, which states that:
Where the potential impacts will be severe and
potentially irreversible, action must be taken to
prevent such harm even in the face of scientific
uncertainty.
What will happen if we wait?
• Rises in global temperature will lead to the
passing of tipping points, which will eventually
lead to runaway climate change.
There are tipping points in the climate system,
which we are very close to, and if we pass them,
the dynamics of the system take over and carry
you to very large changes which are out of your
control.”
-- James Hansen, NASA
Statement 7:
Experts and engineers have developed lowcarbon or no-carbon technologies, but developing
and implementing them will be too costly for the
economy.
Answer: Disagree
Claims that fighting climate change will cripple the
economy and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs
are unfounded. In fact, companies that are already
reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, with
conservation efforts and new technologies, are
discovering significant cost-savings.
The Stern Review
• Report by Sir Nicholas Stern in 2006, estimated
that an aggressive approach to mitigate CO2
levels will cost 1% of global GDP per year.
• The same report estimated a “do nothing”
approach would result in costs between 5 and
20% global GDP per year to deal with effects of
climate change.
Statement 8:
Given the global nature of climate change,
governments and world leaders should take the
lead on mitigation efforts.
Answer: Agree and disagree
Taking action on climate change is ultimately the
responsibility of everyone. After all, we all pollute
the atmosphere with too much carbon. Though we
look to our elected officials and climate scientists
for leadership and guidance.
Cut Your Carbon
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Ditch the car
• Travel efficiently
• Eat low carbon
• Turn the thermostat down
• Switch off electronics